I HAVE thought long and hard about the recently publicised proposals to relocate Swindon Town FC from the County Ground to the Shaw Forest Country Park next to the houses at Sparcells, Peatmoor, Shaw and Nine Elms.

There can be no doubt these plans to relocate the football club to a new stadium are attractive.

As someone who would wish to see STFC play in a modern stadium fit for the 21st century I, too, have been tempted to lend these proposals my support.

However, I believe locally elected councillors have a responsibility to put aside their personal agendas and place the interests of the wider community at the front.

While I want to see a modern home for Swindon Town FC I have concluded it would be a betrayal of the residents of the West Swindon/Sparcells if the proposals were to win council approval.

Like the residents who have planted 46,000 trees at Shaw Forest Country Park I cannot understand how the Tory leader of the council can give his approval to this potential environmental U-turn by appearing with the developers and the football club at the launch last month.

Mike Bawden didn't even have the courtesy to consult those councillors on whose patch this development is planned.

No wonder his Conservative colleagues Nick Martin, Garry Perkins and Doug Stewart were furious.

We have the council's controlling Conservative group publicly at odds with each other over proposals that are in contradiction to its own Structure Plan, while residents look on in despair.

Plans a few years ago to relocate Swindon Town FC to a new stadium did have the support of all Swindon councillors because the proposed site near to Junction 16 on the M4 made good planning and community sense.

For the club's proposals to succeed they must have the full support of the council which, as both land owner and planning authority, will be crucial in determining any application.

Transferring the problems associated with the present "in town" County Ground location to a different "in town" location does the council no credit whatsoever.

While the proposals for a new stadium may be attractive, I would urge my fellow councillors to recognise any development on the Shaw Forest Country Park would be a betrayal of the trust of the people whose interests we were elected to represent.

Coun JIM D'AVILA

(Lab, Moredon)

Labour's Spokesman for Cultural Change